Whether or not you celebrate the Jewish holidays, a good brisket recipe or two is a nice thing to have in your winter repertoire. Brisket is a fairly inexpensive cut of meat that gets amazingly tender after some quality time in the oven. And it requires very little attention or care while it cooks. That’s a nice characteristic in a piece of beef. And this one is rich with a fabulous mushroom sauce, which you can make with any mushrooms you like.

This mushroom brisket is perfect for Passover, a cold winter’s day, or the first break of Spring. I like serving it with Parmesan Brussels Sprouts and mashed potatoes. Finish the meal with a rich Flourless Chocolate Cake, and pass the whipped cream, or make a batch of jelly doughnuts if you’re making a Hannukah feast.

Beef Brisket with Wild Mushrooms: A hearty mushroom sauce turns a simple brisket into a show-offy main course. Perfect for Passover.

Beef Brisket with Wild Mushrooms Ingredients

• Head of garlic – Adding 1 full head of garlic cloves to the sauce may seem crazy, but because most of the garlic is cooked in its papery skin at low heat, it will turn meltingly soft and mild as the brisket cooks. Tell your guests to squeeze out the roasted garlic from the skins and add it to their sauce. (Or spread it on crusty bread or toast, but not on Passover!)
• Dried porcini mushrooms – A combination of dried and fresh mushrooms gives this sauce a really deep flavor.
• Olive oil – The oil gets divided in this recipe. Part of it is used to sear to brisket, and the rest is used to cook the fresh mushrooms.
• Beef brisket – A 3-pound brisket is perfect for this recipe.
• Red onion – The strong, sweet flavor of a red onion mellows during cooking and is a great partner to the beef and mushrooms.
• All-purpose flour or potato starch – On Passover, you need to use potato starch instead of flour to thicken the sauce to keep Kosher for Passover.
• Red wine – Use whatever red wine you like, and plan to drink the rest of the bottle along with dinner.
• Beef broth – The base of the rich sauce.
• Thyme leaves – Adds fresh, herby flavor.
• Wild mushrooms – If you want a more subtly flavored mushroom flavor, you can mix in some sliced button or cremini mushrooms with the wild mushrooms. This is also helpful budget-wise, as wild mushrooms can be pricey. But as any mushroom lover will tell you, wild mushrooms are worth every penny.
• Balsamic vinegar – The sweet acidity of the balsamic balances out the deep, woodsy flavor of the mushrooms.

What Size Brisket Should I Buy?

The size of the brisket you choose obviously depends on the amount of people you are feeding, but also what else you are serving along with the meat. If you factor in 1/2 pound per person, and then tack on another pound or two for extra hungry guests, you will be in good shape, even if brisket is the main course. Go over bigger if you want leftovers (and why wouldn’t you?)

In this recipe, and most brisket recipes, you can use a larger size piece of brisket, and just bump up the quantities of the other ingredients proportionately. Brisket is a very flexible piece of meat as long as you cook it low and slow, so the exact measurements of onions and liquid are not so important — just keep the flavors balanced. Brisket shrinks when it cooks, so as you are assessing the size piece you need, keep that in mind.

How to Make Brisket with Mushroom Sauce

1. Prepare the garlic: Preheat the oven and mince two cloves of garlic, leaving the rest of the cloves in their skin.
2. Soak the mushrooms: Chop the mushrooms and reserve the liquid for later.
3. Sear the brisket.
4. Make the braising liquid: Sauté the onions in the same pan, then add the potato starch (or flour) and stir to coat. Add in the wine and stir. Simmer until reduced by half, then stir in the beef broth, thyme, chopped mushrooms, and their soaking liquid.
5. Cook the brisket: Add the brisket to the pan with the liquid, as well as the garlic cloves. Cover and transfer to the oven to cook for 3 hours, or until super tender and falling apart.
6. Cook the mushrooms: Saute the fresh mushrooms with the minced garlic. Add the balsamic vinegar to deglaze.
7. Slice and serve: Add in the mushrooms. Slice the brisket against the grain and serve with the sauce and mushrooms.

Make Ahead Brisket

You can make brisket a couple of days ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. Skim off any fat that has accumulated on the top, and slice the brisket before returning it to the pot with the sauce and heating it gently in the oven or on the stove.

If you have leftover brisket, turn it into a Brisket Barley Soup.

What to Serve With Beef Brisket and Wild Mushrooms

Simple Beer Braised Cabbage

Red Salad with Citrus, Honey, and Thyme Vinaigrette

Lebanese Couscous with Sautéed Kale and Lemon Dressing

More Dishes for the Jewish Holidays

• Chicken Marbella 
• Jewish Brisket for the Holidays
• Chicken Thighs with Onions and Green Olives 
• Garlicky Roast Chicken with Shallots and Potatoes